UK-based Erris Resources has commenced diamond drilling at the south end of its 100% owned Abbeytown zinc project in County Sligo, Ireland.
Image: Zinc acetate crystallized by slow evaporation. Photo courtesy of Chemicalinterest (talk)/Wikipedia.
The drilling program is part of the brownfields exploration taken up by the company in and around the old Abbeytown mine and surrounding targets.
Erris has started the 1000m underground drilling program about 300m south of the historic Abbeytown lead-silver mine. It comes under the 4,500-5,000m drilling plan drawn for the broader Abbeytown project area.
The miner has drill permits to execute drilling initially for eight holes that will assess strike and depth extensions of the known mineralization.
Erris revealed that exploration targets will include high grade extensions surrounding the old mine workings. The company will also assess the potential for mineralization in a corridor to the south of the mine in the area, which is presently the focus of the surface drilling program.
Erris Resources CEO Merlin Marr-Johnson said: “In parallel, surface drilling recently began 300m south of the mine, targeting the extensions to the mineralisation previously mined.
“The programme hopes to define mineralisation both from surface and from underground with the aim of delivering a new mineral resource that could eventually be accessible from the existing underground portal and decline.”
Marr-Johnson revealed that the company’s early stage drilling at the Skreen prospect, 15km away from Abbeytown did indicate the presence of mineralization within the target area. However, it was found to have no economic potential.
Last month, Erris Resources bagged a new gold exploration permit Enåsen no.5 (Enåsen Project) in central Sweden. Spanning an area of 59.4km2, the gold exploration license surrounds the Enåsen open pit gold mine and is said to complement the existing Swedish Nordgruvan project.
Erris Resources is a European focused mineral exploration company with a portfolio of zinc prospects in Ireland and gold projects in Sweden. The company is backed by Canadian mining firm Osisko Gold Royalties and Centerra Gold KB.